In The Dark
by Wishmaster Kami
Summary: Christophe/Kenny; Christophe doesn't do relationships, and Kenny's not pushing. He just needs a place to stay once in a while. It's a comfortable routine, until a life changing decision and a forgiveness Christophe doesn't believe he deserves.
1. Prologue

The idea for this has been floating around in my head for a little while now. It's going to be a little dark, and so far I don't know how many chapters it's going to be, I have at least three planned, but there's bound to be more.  
Can I just say that 'Tophe's accent kills me and I have to say it out loud to write it properly and I feel like an epic dork.

Reviews are for love, let me know how you feel about this  
-Kami3

**Disclaimer is on profile**

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**In The Dark - Prologue

The smoky atmosphere of the room had been the same since he was eight years of age. Although now it had taken on a sultrier feel, a mysterious vibe that seemed to draw everyone to him.

The Goths wanted him once. They had overheard him telling off Cartman in a low, growling voice.

"_What does eet matter to you, fat boy? In ze dark, we are all ze same, zere iz nozing past ze moment of ze kill, of victory. In ze dark, you are only as rich as ze fear zat fuels you to run away."_

They had hounded him for weeks and it took him threatening their existence with his shovel to get them off his back.

Next to him a warm body shifted away from his side. He didn't even glance over, a general air of disinterest surrounding him. His cigarette hung out of the corner of his mouth, smoldering away without a care.

He pondered why people wanted him. Was it the accent? No, it was mocked more than anything. He assumed it was his general hate for God, his mercenary traits, and the fact he preferred to be on his own. People romanticized him into something he had no intentions of being. Some said he was depressing, others said he was deep, others classified him as a man so lost in his inner turmoil to understand anything.

He was just a guy with a job, emotionally detached to do said job. He enjoyed freedom and sunlight and a good laugh. He watched movies and television, he hated his parents. He was just like the rest of them, and most were blind to this.

Except for the one snoring softly next to him.

Christophe did not bring people home, he did not sleep with people, he did not form relationships with people. He had acquaintances, Kyle and Stan being among them. But close relationships were dangerous for him, intimacy was dangerous. What if someone discovered this? It would be a weakness to be exploited.

Finally he turned his dark eyes to the sleeping form beside him. His blonde hair was splayed all across the pillow, body rising and falling with his gentle breaths as he lay stretched out on his stomach. Sinewy muscles twitched beneath pale skin in this dream state.

Perhaps now it would be alright to throw these rules into the wind. For this boy who seemed both popular and invisible. He was there one day, gone for the next two. People cared for him, it was obvious, but he was another soul wandering in the background noise of their day to day lives. A solid ghost.

Kenny McCormick was one of the most interesting creatures Christophe had met in his short eighteen years.

He did not bring him home, Kenny followed him for weeks and then finally snuck in his window one night. Kenny did not push sex on him either. For someone with a reputation for being a man-whore, Kenny did not seem the part to Christophe. And best of all, Kenny never pushed a relationship onto him. He didn't even claim them as friends.

Christophe put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray on the floor next to the mattress that was his bed. He rolled onto his side and stroked a calloused hand over the smooth flesh of the blonde's back.


	2. The Beginning

Okay. So, after trying it last time, hearts fail...hence the random three after my name in the prologue.

This chapter gave me a bit of grief cause I didn't end it where I thought I should, and then I couldn't find a place to end it but I didn't want it to be too short. And then I found a perfect part. So please enjoy this chapter, and reviews are awesome *thumbs up*

OH! And I failed at their class room description. In case no one gets what I was trying to describe, their class was in the theater, and on the sides of the seats there are little half desks that you can pull up to use. I kinda based it off my high school theater.

And last but not least, a great big thanks to my reviewers:  
Zoshi the Confused  
Alpha Hydra  
Goldfish

You guys totally made my day ^^  
-Kami

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In The Dark - The Beginning

Christophe was lying on his mattress, hands clasped behind his head. He was faintly aware of the noise coming from his television, but it was low, a background noise to loose himself in. And then his window rattled. In an instant Christophe was on his feet and across the room. His shovel was propped up on the wall next to his bedroom door, the door locked to keep his parents out.

As he wound his fingers around the shaft of his weapon, a flash of bright orange appeared in his window. Christophe blended into the shadows of his hunter green walls. Kenny let out an angry muffled sound and worked on the lock before breaking through it successfully. He tumbled through the window and landed on the mattress with a soft 'umph'.

"What ze fuck are you doing 'ere?" Christophe growled. Kenny popped up and looked around frantically.

["Mole?"] came his muffled voice before he pulled back his hood, "So this is the right house."

"Kenny, you 'ave two fucking seconds to anzer ze question."

"Uhh…sanctuary?" Kenny asked, pushing aside his blonde locks as they fell into his eyes. The first thing Christophe noticed was the swelling bruise around Kenny's left eye. The next was the fact that those large, blinking, baby blues were completely devoid of fear as he approached with his shovel at the ready.

"Sanctuary?"

"Look man, I just need a place to sleep," Kenny said with a sigh, "I can't go to the guys, they'll do something stupid. All I have is ten bucks, so you can have that if you want." Kenny offered. There was a desperation in his voice Christophe had never heard from the boy before.

Christophe had always hated his parents, but he had never feared them. He had never felt so unsafe in their house that he was forced to offer money to a stranger just for a good nights sleep. And he knew Kenny didn't have that bruise going home from school that day either.

"Keep your money," he finally said with a shake of his head. He returned his shovel to its place against the wall.

"Thanks dude." Kenny said with a faint grin. He pulled off his parka and tossed it to the end of the bed. He lay down, curled towards the wall and was passed out in a minute. Christophe had always known Kenny was skinny, but in the dim light that the TV tossed across the room, he looked malnourished as well.

Christophe sighed and flopped onto the mattress, keeping away from Kenny and rolling onto his side.

When he woke up, Kenny was already gone.

---

Arriving at school, Christophe was wary. Really, the only one who matched his paranoia was Tweek, and that was caffeine induced, not from living a life on the edge.

He immediately caught sight of the bright orange parka huddled in a small group. He picked out Stan, Craig, Clyde and Cartman. They seemed to be badgering Kenny for something.

The feeling of rage and betrayal that filled up Christophe had topped everything he'd ever felt. He let out a low hiss of 'sheet' and pulled out his smokes. A nervous habit that no one had really caught as nervous. They all thought he was a nicotine addict. He was just trying to settle paranoid nerves.

He made his way to the front steps, sitting on the second from the bottom and stretching his legs out as he waited. If Kenny had played him, toyed with the little amounts of compassion for the human race that he had, he would kill him.

Soon Kenny broke away from the group as Kyle and Butters approached.

"Fuck off!" Kenny shouted at the people he considered his closest friends. His hood had fallen back and the wind wiped his already mussed blonde locks into a frenzy of knots. "It's none of your business."

He turned and stormed towards the school, pausing when he found Christophe staring at him.

"What? You gunna start bugging me too?"

"Non." Christophe said simply, keeping a calm air around him. Kenny snorted.

"Good. It's not your concern anyways," he snarled before storming into the school. Christophe inhaled deeply on the cigarette in his lips, cocking an eyebrow. He continued to sit on the steps, fiddling with the strap that held his shovel to his back as Kenny's 'friends' started to approach the building.

"Dude, what's up with Kenny?" Kyle asked in a hushed tone.

"Dunno dude," Stan replied, his voice keeping to the whispering theme, "We were just asking about his black eye…"

So, Christophe had jumped to conclusions too quickly. Why would Kenny subject himself to a black eye to try and worm his way into Christophe's good graces? Even if his friends had put him up to it, it probably wasn't something the blonde would readily take to. He stepped on the butt of the smoke he'd tossed to the ground as he stood and dusted off his pants.

The one thing Christophe hated most about high school was the hallways. Everyone talked and whispered and stared. Some shouted, the jocks threw footballs, the cheerleaders screamed cheers in his face. It was really hard not to hit them sometimes.

But, amidst the chaos he, and those few like him, had a chance to hide. To slip through unnoticed as they headed to a sanctuary. Either the library or theater or even a class room.

There was still ten minutes before class, but Christophe had nothing else to do. That and he couldn't help his curiosity. He headed for the theater.

Kenny, for the entirety that Christophe had known him, had never asked anyone for help. He was too proud for it. If he was hungry, he wouldn't say. He had a hard time accepting the food his friends offered. If he wanted something, he worked till he had the money to buy it.

Kenny McCormick was not a charity case.

The first class was psychology. It had been the same since elementary. For some reason, they stayed together as a class, all of them.

Christophe was strategic in his sitting placement. He sat two rows behind Kyle and Stan, and one seat to the left. He could still hear them without straining too hard, and the words he couldn't hear he could pick out with lip reading.

"Do you think it was his parents?" Kyle asked and Stan shook his head.

"It can't have been his family," Stan disagreed, "I mean, if someone was gunna beat on him, we woulda seen it years ago. Kenny's got a mouth on him, but his parents love him man."

"Just a random street fight?"

"Kenny's never been a scraper, you know that." Stan sighed and shook his head, "I don't know what's happened to him, but he's on the defensive---."

Stan's sentence was cut short. Christophe glanced up from under his fringe to see Kenny entering the room.

Kenny hovered in the doorway for a moment, staring at his two best friends before shaking his head. He moved past them and plopped down next to Christophe. Stan and Kyle both turned in their seats to look at Kenny who busied himself with pulling his scribbler out of his messenger bag and pulling up the half-desk part of his seat. Christophe pointedly ignored them by trying to unscrew his desk. He hated these theater seats with the little wood planks that served as their platforms.

When Stan and Kyle realized Kenny was going to keep ignoring them, they turned back around. Kenny let out a soft sigh and dropped his forehead into his hand, leaning his elbow on the wood surface in front of him.

"I'm sorry," he finally said after a moment. Christophe glanced up from the screw he was loosening and stared at Kenny. The blonde offered up no further explanation, so Christophe returned to his vandalism of school property.

Part of his curiosity had been resolved, but that had only opened the door for more.

---

As lunch rolled by Christophe saw something that he had never before seen in his life and it left him slightly stunned.

Bebe was standing in line for lunch with Kenny, and they were talking. Like civil people. Kenny and Bebe never talked like civil people when it came to one another. Usually if the two of them were within fifteen feet of each other it was a screaming match.

Generally it was something along the lines of:

"_Hey! Whore, your big tits are in the way! Move them!"_

"_Shut your fucking face cock sucker!"_

"_Hey, don't be hatin'! At least I get cock!"_

"_Oh, you are such a fag!"_

"_I'd rather be a fag than a big tited bimbo with three different STDs, babe."_

And it usually continued on like that until someone shut Kenny up, since nine times out of ten he was the instigator. No one was sure what about Bebe set Kenny off like that, but Craig started the rumor that Kenny was actually head over heels for the blonde chick and she had stepped on his heart like a stiletto on a cigarette butt.

Of course that had been laid to rest by a very pissed off Bebe.

Apparently Christophe was not the only one to notice because people around the cafeteria were buzzing with gossip.

"Look, Bebe," Kenny said softly, not noticing Christophe as he slipped close enough to hear his semi-muffled voice, "It was nothing. Just stay outta Denver for a bit."

"Kenny, what were you doing there anyways?"

"It's _nothing_ Bebe," Kenny said, stressing the sentence. "Just drop the subject, forget the event and stay. Out of. Denver."

"No, you know what? Fuck you Kenny!"

"Yeah! Fuck you, you fucking whore!" Kenny yelled back.

"I am not a whore!"

"Then stay the fuck out of back alleys in Denver, slut!" Kenny snapped, "God, you have no brains, you fucking bimbo! If you did, they all fucking migrated to your life boat tits! God Damn!"

Kenny turned and stormed away.

Christophe shook his head as he pulled out a few loose bills, tossing them to the lunch lady. It had taken him three years, but he'd finally gotten over the suspicion she had been poisoning food and actually started eating school lunches.

Of course he still avoided the cafeteria for fear the idiocy of his school mates may rub off on him.

Heading outside with a small serving of fries, Christophe headed to one of the few picnic tables that were spread around the campus. He watched the students, his eyes almost glazing over until he could stand it no more. He pulled out a small Swiss Army Knife and began to carve up the wood on the table.

"You have a violent tendency to vandalize shit."

"You would rather me be stealing from you zen?"

"No, that's cool," Kenny said, shaking his head, "I'll live with the vandalism."

"Iz dere somezing you want, mon ami? Or are you just here to annoy me?"

"I'm just here to eat lunch. And…" Kenny hesitated before offering Christophe one of his patented 'this-is-my-cute-face-I'm-being-cute-to-get-a-favour-I'm-not-begging-you-fucking-asshole-Cartman-shut-up' face, "Maybe borrow a smoke?"

Christophe was staring more intently on the carvings in the table than looking at Kenny. He didn't see the face. Kenny was starting to doubt the Christophe was acknowledging his existence anymore.

"Okay well…"

Kenny went to get up, but stopped as a pack of cigarettes and a lighter landed on the table. Kenny picked up the pack and studied the foreign lettering. Gitanes. They were only available in France. Maybe Christophe had been there recently, since he normally smoked Marlboros.

"Sweet, thanks d--."

"Ne parlez pas." Christophe informed him.

Kenny fell silent. He watched Christophe's carvings for a moment before turning away, watching the smoke from the cigarette dissipate into the air.

* * *

*ne parlez pas = do not speak

I like having French as a sort of second language, I didn't even have to look that one up! And I apologize, being Canadian and a non-smoker, I don't know much about other cigarette brands, so I just took the most popular French brand, and the most popular American brand (and by most popular I mean the one I read about in fics most often).


	3. Curious Happenings

Okay, another chapter! Yay! I actually have the third done and the fourth is about half done. I just can't stop writing it! Which is good!

There is some french in this, the translations are at the bottom.

Thank you to everyone who has faved/watched the story, and a special thanks to Zoshi who is leaving me lovely reviews  
-Kami

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In The Dark - Curious Happenings

It was midnight and Christophe couldn't sleep. He'd been back in South Park for three hours, jet lag always screwed him over for it. Naturally he was cursing God under his breath as he made himself a cup of tea, a smoke hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

So far everything was going well, his mother hadn't questioned his three day absence in the ten minutes she saw him before she headed to bed, and he hadn't woken her up yet with his midnight excursion to the refrigerator.

He moved silently through his kitchen, pulling a cup from the cupboard and setting it down before checking the kettle he'd set on the stove. He wanted to grab it before it started to whistle. He didn't want to deal with the God-loving banshee at the moment.

Once he was sure it wasn't about to start going off, he moved to the pantry and looked for something to snack on. God damnit, his mother still treated him like a child. The pantry was full of childish snacks. Little gummies in the shapes of dinosaurs, pop tarts, granola bars, and Oreo cookies. He'd gone ballistic for these things when he was eight, now he just wanted something with some sort of health factor. Oh well, pop tarts would do, he hadn't really eaten much while he was gone.

After getting the snack and a tea bag, he headed back to the kettle and pulled it off the stove, assuming it would be hot enough. He picked up the mug and began to pour the hot water into it when there was a loud bang from upstairs.

It actually startled him and he dropped his cup. Cursing loudly, more over the fact that he'd actually been startled than the broken mug, he put the kettle down on the stove as his mother's voice reached his ears.

"Christophe! Ce qui sont vous faisant?"

"Rien maman, ne retournent pour enfoncer." Christophe said, a sharper tone to his voice than intended. Immediately he cringed.

"Ne prenez pas cette tonalité de voix avec moi!" his mother screamed at him.

Christophe was half way up the stairs and his mother was standing at the top. He frowned at her as he reached the third stair from the top.

"Pardonnez moi, maman," he said firmly, pulling his cigarette from his lips and exhaling the smoke to the side to keep it out of her face.

"Non! Où avez-vous été pendant trois jours? Pourquoi y a-t-il ébruite-t-il toujours venir de votre pièce?"

"Noises?"

"Oui. Noiz-eez." His mother said sharply. Christophe looked around her to the door he had left open for a few moments just to make some tea. When he wasn't home, it stayed locked at all times.

In the doorway a pair of blue eyes looked guilty and surprised and vanished quickly.

"Zat leettle sheet!" Christophe snapped, shoving past his mother and storming down the hall.

"Christophe!"

"Shut up maman! Go to bed." Christophe snapped, throwing open his bedroom door. Kenny was sitting on his bed with a guilty smile.

"Christophe!"

Christophe slammed the door shut and locked the deadbolt with a hiss of 'stupid beetch' before turning his glare on Kenny.

"Look…Mole…I can--."

"'Ave you been sneaking in 'ere while I am away? Are you some sort of idiot! I should kill you!"

"Wouldn't do you much good," Kenny said with a shrug and Christophe frowned.

"What does _zat_ mean?"

"Nothing." Kenny said, shrugging it off. "Okay, so it's like this. I have been coming here, I didn't realize you were away the first time. I just…needed someplace to stay for a bit."

"You 'ave a 'ouse," Christophe snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, yeah. But I can't go there right now. I sorta got myself into shit I shouldn't have and it's bad. I don't care if I die, no one really does. But I can't put my family in that spot."

"So you come 'ere?" Christophe snarled, "You come 'ere and comprimize my 'ome! Ze one place zat iz suppozed to be my safe place!"

"I'm sorry!" Kenny said. There it was, that desperation again. It caught Christophe off guard. "I can't pay you much, I just need a place to sleep once in a while. Look! I did all the homework you missed too, to make up for it!" Kenny dug into his school bag and pulled out some crumpled papers, holding them up like an offering to a pissed off deity.

Christophe was silent for a long while. He dug in his pocket and pulled out his smokes and lit one up, taking a long drag from it. After he had the nicotine coursing through him to settle his nerves, he spoke.

"Were you ever followed?"

"No! I did this whole thing where I backtracked and walked around the town and hopped fences and everything!"

"Did you touch anyzing while you were 'ere?"

"No! Never! I just crawled in through the window, and slept and then left in the morning. I swear to God!"

"Non. Do not swear to zat bastard." Christophe snarled, "'E knows nozing of zis life. I will believe you…for now."

"Thank you." Kenny said softly. Christophe snorted and shook his head.

"Do not say zat. You owe me lunch tomorrow, in exchange for ze mug zat you broke."

"I…okay." Kenny said, resigning himself to it. Lunch wasn't that bad anyways. There were worse things Christophe could have made him pay for…or worse, he could have just kicked him out. He pulled off his parka and tossed it to the end of the bed.

"Hey Mole?"

"What?" Christophe asked, not looking away from his movie collection as he crouched near his TV, the only source of light in the room.

"How come you don't have a bed?"

"I 'ave a bed, you are sitting on eet."

"You have a mattress."

"Oui. Zat iz my bed, iz eet not?"

"Well, I mean….even I have a bedframe."

"A bed frame iz just anozer place for t'ieves to 'ide under."

"Oh."

Christophe pushed an old movie into the VCR sitting under the television and grabbed the remotes before heading to the bed. In the flickering light he really looked at Kenny. The swelling around his left eye had gone down, but now he had a split lip and moved like his ribs were bruised, maybe even fractured or broken.

"VHS?" Kenny said in a light, teasing manner, not looking up at Christophe as he slowly lowered himself to the mattress, pressing his back to the wall under the window, "Jeeze Mole…get with the times."

"Eet iz a classic," Christophe said absently as Casablanca flickered onto the screen. Kenny let out a small laugh and closed his eyes.

"I'd expect you to watch Les Misérables."

"Too cliché." Christophe said, kicking off his combat boots before plopping down on the bed. He sat with his back to Kenny, eyes focused on the television.

"Whoda thought 'Ze Mole' would be worried about cliché's." Kenny chuckled, trying to stretch out into a comfortable position.

The two stayed silent for a long time after that. Christophe finished one cigarette and lit another. He saw the movie, but didn't really. He was aware of the smoke curling around him, but he wasn't. He was lost someplace in the dark recesses of his mind.

"I like that line," Kenny chuckled, snapping Christophe from his thoughts.

"Pardonne?"

"In the movie," Kenny opened his eyes to look at Christophe who had looked over his shoulder at him, "'We read five times that you were killed, in five different places.'…'As you can see, it was true every single time.'" He quoted, a faint smile on his lips.

Christophe cocked an eyebrow, not seeing what was so special about the line. Kenny chuckled and shook his head.

"Nevermind."

Christophe did just that. He smashed out the butt of his Marlboro in the ashtray before turning and lying down. Kenny watched him, he watched the movie.

---

English class found Christophe sitting outside on one of the picnic tables having a smoke. It wasn't that he was bad at English, it was his second language, he just found the class itself boring. Especially during the Shakespeare unit. He had enjoyed Hamlet and Macbeth, but Midsummer's Night Dream bored him to no end.

So he skipped it. It's not like he was failing the class anyways, Kenny had been doing his homework for him. Actually, he found a bit of irony in the situation. Next to him, Kenny was the kid who missed the most school and yet he was doing his homework as well as Christophe's.

Christophe heard the crunch of leaves behind him and turned around, ready to tell of whichever one of the Goths that had come to accost him during his smoke break. They had a bad tendency to do that, and it pissed him off. Usually they sent Henrietta, hoping the curvy brunette could sway him.

Upon turning, Christophe was mildly surprised to see Kenny grinning at him. It was still late-fall, and while the nights were viciously cold, the day time was a little more relenting and Kenny was wearing an orange hoodie in place of his parka, only half-zipped.

"Hey Mole," he greeted, crawling onto the table and sitting next to the smoking teen. "Aren't you cold?"

"Non." Christophe said with a shrug, pulling out another smoke and lighting it with the dying butt of his last one before flicking it away without thought.

It was rare for Christophe to wear sweaters, and he was hard pressed to get into a jacket. He hated the long sleeves, they got in the way and what if he had a sudden situation on his hands where he needed to fight and couldn't because the sleeves were in the way?

Kenny shrugged and Christophe offered him a smoke. Kenny took one with a grin, pulling a zippo out of his baggy jeans. Christophe tucked the pack back into his cargo pants. Then his hand fell to the shovel lying next to him on the table top.

"You keep smoking in a chain like that and you'll die of lung cancer." Kenny informed him suddenly.

"Perhaps." Christophe said, not really paying attention, "But…zo will you."

"Yeah, it happens," Kenny said with a light laugh.

It seemed to Christophe that Kenny joked about his own death a lot. He didn't feel like questioning it yet.

"'Ow are your ribs?"

"What?"

"Your ribs, zey are bozering you, non?"

"Oh…yeah. They're better, just gotta avoid gym class and I think I'll be good." Kenny said with a nod, no longer looking at Christophe but out across the school yard. There was a long period of silence and Kenny looked back at Christophe with a curious expression.

"You're not going to ask about it?"

"Eet iz none of my business." Christophe said, looking at Kenny with a raised eyebrow. "You do not ask where I go for a few days, I do not ask where you do. Simple az zat."

Kenny looked at him, blinking a bit. He looked confused to say the least. No one had ever not questioned his injuries, especially if they didn't kill him. He finally shook his head and opted for taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Don't lock your window tonight," he said after a while, "It's a pain in the ass to jimmy open." He stood, dropping the butt of the cigarette to the ground and stomping it out with his steel-toes.

"What?" Christophe asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Kenny grinned, "If I don't die tonight, I'll be stopping by."

Christophe stared at Kenny as he waved and headed towards the school as the bell rung to signify class change. That was a first for him. He'd never had anyone tell him they were planning on coming over, then again, he'd never told anyone where he lived before either.

Getting up he wondered if this would be a common occurrence from now on.

* * *

_Ce qui sont vous faisant – What are you doing?_

_Rien maman, ne retournent pour enfoncer. – Nothing mother, go back to bed._

_Ne prenez pas cette tonalité de voix avec moi – Don't take that tone of voice with me!_

_Pardonnez moi, maman – pardon me mom…a polite way of say move it._

_Où avez-vous été pendant trois jours – Where have you been for three days?_

_Pourquoi y a-t-il ébruite-t-il toujours venir de votre pièce – Why are there always noises coming from your room?_

The next chapter is short, just so you all know!


	4. Sealed

So, this was supposed to be a short chapter, but then the next chapter ran on and on so I took the first half of it and added it here. So now I have a longer chapter, but I'm sure that's fine with all of you ^^

And of course, I answer no questions and just provide a lot more. I'm evil and conniving like that, and that's why people love me (and that's what I keep telling myself)

I just realized there's not a whole lot of Cartman in this...I must fix that later.

And once again, thanks and loves to Zoshi the Confused and Alpha Hydra. You guys always make my day^^

* * *

In The Dark - Sealed

Christophe was staring at Kenny, for once actually looking very interested. The blonde hadn't been around for almost a week. He had crawled up into Christophe's room and flopped onto the mattress lazily, grinning from ear to ear up at the mercenary.

"Heeey, Mole! Long time no see." He chuckled.

"Oui." Was all Christophe could think of to say.

"Hey man, you got anything to eat? I am _starving_." Kenny drawled, "Damien has terrible hospitality, barely fed me while I was there."

"I…uh, oui." Christophe stuttered. It wasn't Kenny's sudden appearance that had him so startled, more of his overall appearance. Any bruising he had on his face was gone, and his ribs, which had appeared to be plaguing him before, seemed perfectly healed, if the way Kenny threw himself around was any indication.

Christophe knew from experience wounds did not heal that fast.

"Sweet dude." Kenny said, still grinning. Christophe undid the bolt on his door before turning to Kenny.

"Stay quiet. If you wake maman, I will tear your head off," he growled before pulling open the door. Kenny nodded vigorously, chucking his parka back onto the bed. Christophe eyed him warily, then turned and poked his head out the door. All seemed quiet. He left his room and Kenny followed close behind him.

The blonde felt like he was playing Mission Impossible with Stan and Kyle again, only this time it wasn't playing and there were real consequences if they got caught. He really did not want to hear Christophe's mom screaming in French again.

They made it downstairs before Christophe stopped and Kenny, not paying attention, walked into him.

"'Allo Christophe."

"'Allo papa," Christophe sighed. Damn, he'd been hoping the man had gone to bed. It was one in the morning for Christ's sake.

"What are you doing up so late son?"

"Just getting a snack," Christophe explained lamely, half-heartedly gesturing to Kenny.

"Ah, a friend." Christophe's father seemed to light up at the idea. It was rare to see people with Christophe, let alone Christophe letting them into the house and feeding them. "Bonjour…eh…?"

"Kenny," Kenny chirped happily. It seemed nothing could dampen the good mood he was in.

"Well, Kenny, eet iz a plezure to meet you,"

Kenny just grinned as Christophe's father shook his head.

"Papa." Christophe sighed. He grabbed hold of Kenny's t-shirt sleeve and tugged him away. Kenny just waved at the older Frenchman and let himself be dragged away.

"I like him," Kenny informed Christophe as the other teen looked for something to give Kenny, "He doesn't yell like your mom."

"'E iz a spineless beetch. Maman doesn't think I'm a proper child," Christophe snorted, "'Ere." He shoved the bowl of salad he hadn't eaten at dinner at Kenny.

"Salad?" Kenny asked, crinkling his nose.

"Oui."

"Don't you have like…I dunno…something good?"

"Zat iz good. Or do you not like ze health food?"

"Not really a bunny rabbit here."

"Non. Me neither," Christophe agreed. He took the bowl back and pushed it back into the fridge. "What do you want?"

"Do you have like…I dunno, cereal or something?"

"Oui," Christophe said with a nod. He headed to the pantry and pulled out a box of Frosted Flakes.

"Dude!" Kenny beamed at the box, "I love flakes!"

"Bowls are in zere," Christophe indicated the cupboard as he handed Kenny the box before sitting at the table. He pulled out his smokes and lit up as Kenny prepared himself a bowl of cereal.

When he sat to eat, or rather devour ravenously, the cereal, Christophe studied him in the proper light. While all his wounds seemed miraculously healed, there were dark rings under his bright eyes. He looked mentally exhausted.

"Kenny?"

"Yeah?"

Christophe paused and Kenny stared at him expectantly.

"Last week, when you had your fight with Bebe…"

"I always fight with Bebe."

"I know. But zis time was different, non? Eet didn't start with a fight, eet started with a regular conversation. Was she ze reason you got beat up?"

Kenny put the spoon down, keeping his gaze steady with Christophe's, as though he were trying to assess the situation he found himself with. He should have known it would come up.

"Yes and no. It was bound to happen to me eventually. Bebe just stuck her nose into the wrong people's business." Kenny shook his head.

"Zis iz why you come 'ere at night zen?"

"Hey man, if anyone can stand up for themselves, it's you. I pose a threat to anyone else."

"'Ow noble of you,"

Kenny broke into a wide grin. "That seals it,"

"Huh?"

"Lots of people have called me lots of things, but never noble. Guess your dad was right…"

"Now you 'ave lost me." the teen said, staring almost dumbly at Kenny.

"We're friends, Christophe."

---

Christophe was sitting on the bleachers watching the football players practice with vague interest. Smoke curled around and above his head in a twisted halo from the cigarette held precariously between two fingers. With a sigh he rest his chin on that hand, leaning his elbows on his knees.

There was a sick crunch from the field as two players collided, the smaller of the two flying back from the force, his helmet flying off as he hit the ground. Christophe didn't even flinch.

"McCormick! What did I tell you about doing up your helmet!"

"Sorry coach," Kenny called with a laugh, reaching up as Stan helped him to his feet.

"You okay dude?"

"Dude, you tackle like a pussy," Kenny informed him with a grin. Stan laughed and patted Kenny's back.

"Sure I do,"

Kenny scooped down and picked up his helmet. He pulled it on his head, not bothering to strap it on as he headed back out into the fray with his friend.

Christophe sighed and rolled his eyes, flicking the butt of the smoke to rid it of the excess ash. Taking a long drag from the dwindling cigarette, he looked around the field for anything that seemed out of place to him.

It wasn't that he was specifically worried or anything, Kenny could definitely take care of himself, he was just wary. He was always wary, and more so now.

For the past week Kenny had come to his house every night, always past two and always with fresh bruises. Christophe didn't question it, and Kenny didn't seem too eager to talk about it anyways.

Two days ago he'd fallen through the window, his breathing laboured like he'd just run a marathon and a steady stream of blood coming from a gash on his forehead. Silently Christophe had patched the blonde up and told him to get sleep. For once, Kenny wasn't awake before he was, and Christophe had left him to sleep the day away while he went to school.

It was evident Kenny was into something he had no business being in, and he was in deep. Christophe had many theories, but so did the school. Among them was that Kenny was in a wannabe 'Fight Club'. Christophe ruled that out because there would be no reason for him to be seeking shelter from loved ones for that. Another was that he was on the bad end of a drug ring. A third was that Kenny owed someone powerful money and wasn't paying up.

Christophe wasn't sure what it was, but after that night, he'd been on the look out. Kenny had been right, Christophe accepted him as a friend, perhaps his only friend. And he didn't want to loose such a small link to the rest of humanity too fast.

A sudden shriek snapped Christophe's attention back to the field.

False alarm. It was only Red. Kenny had tried to get a sneak peek under her cheerleader's uniform. He was walking away rubbing the large red spot on his face with a laugh as Stan stood waiting, shaking his head. Christophe couldn't help but chuckle. Kenny was quite the pervert. He had learnt this the hard way.

While in Christophe's house, Kenny was quiet and well mannered. Usually because he was too tired to be anything else. At school he really shone. He had sought Christophe out one day to bum a smoke. The mercenary hadn't had much sleep and then had a fight with the gym teacher. He was not in a good mood and said no. Kenny had stood in front of him, staring at him for a moment. Then, as Christophe took a drag of his smoke, Kenny, in front of most of their class, leapt into his lap, wound his arms around him and crashed their lips together. It had taken Christophe a second to sort out what was happening to him before he punched Kenny. The blonde fell to the ground in peals of laughter, smoke escaping his lips.

"Nothin' better than second-hand smoke!" he'd declared to onlookers, which earned a few laughs. Christophe then proceeded to tell Kenny off very loudly in French. Kenny had gotten the just of it, or was reminded of Christophe's mother and feared for himself, and never did it again.

Now Kenny was in a screaming match with Bebe, again. Christophe was catching snippets of it. Bebe called Kenny perverse, Kenny called Bebe the most prude slut he'd ever met. It continued on like that for a good five minutes before Christophe stood and started descending the bleachers.

Stan had to dodge Kenny's helmet as he threw it before rushing forward to help Craig try and restrain Kenny as he struggled forward, screaming his head off at Bebe who screamed right back at him.

"Token!" Stan called desperately since he and Craig could seem to keep a good grip on the weasely blonde, and the coach seemed to have buggered off. "Get your ass over here and help us!"

"You ungrateful whore! You fat assed slut!"

"How dare you, you little rat! I see you sneaking around--."

"Enough."

Bebe was cut short and Kenny actually stilled in Craig and Stan's grip before Token even had a chance to get to them. Christophe stood with his arms folded over his chest, smoke tucked in the corner of his mouth as he stared with narrowed eyes at the blonde boy and girl.

"Why iz eet always ze screaming and ze yelling with you two?" Christophe asked, his voice low but authoritive, "Can you not see everybody iz sick and tired of eet? Like you two are stuck on some sort of broken record, non? Apologize."

Bebe looked appalled at the thought of apologizing to Kenny and Kenny turned a deathly glare onto Christophe. Christophe merely narrowed his eyes and glared back.

"Now."

"Tophe!" Kenny whined before realizing it was futile.

"Bebe, say sorry to Kenny."

"No."

"I do not like repeating myself Bebe." Christophe snarled. Bebe squeaked and let out a soft 'sorry' and stared at her feet. Christophe looked at Stan and Craig who immediately released Kenny from their grip.

Kenny pulled away before they had fully let go, looking like a bird with ruffled feathers. He turned a hateful eye onto Bebe.

"Sorry." He said gruffly. It was the best anyone was going to get.

"If I 'ear zis again, I will not be az nice." Christophe informed them with a hint of threat in his voice. And then he turned and headed off the field.

"Uhh…" Stan said, staring at Craig who shrugged, "Showers." He decided. Practice was over as it was. Kenny took off after Christophe.

"Christophe! Tophe, seriously, wait up!" Kenny snapped, running to catch up with his friend. "What the _fuck_ was that?"

"What?"

"Back there! Since when are you all high and mighty?"

"You need to lay off Bebe, she 'az done nozing to you."

"She exists, and that's crime enough," Kenny snorted. Christophe stopped and turned to Kenny, pulling out his smokes.

"Kenny. Look at you. You 'ave a black eye and a gash on your fore'ead. You are out until two in ze morning every night and up at six! Yelling at Bebe iz only going to add to your stress, I'm surprised you 'avn't 'ad a stress induced breakdown yet!" Christophe snapped, his voice harsher than he meant it to be. He growled at himself and pulled a smoke out of his pack. He lit it with the dying embers of the butt he then tossed and took a long drag off it.

Kenny watched him silently, unsure whether to seethe in anger or just be grateful because someone cared enough to get mad at him. His parents never cared that he didn't show up at home for a few days. Stan and Kyle never asked if he was okay after he told them off, like they were only doing a courtesy by asking in the first place.

Christophe cared in his own, detached way. He noticed little things about Kenny others didn't pick up on. He tended to his wounds without questions, but with an attitude that was disapproving. He broke up fights to save Kenny's sanity.

Christophe let out a surprised yelp, a rare sound to come from him, as Kenny leapt forward and latched onto him. It was the most awkward hug Christophe ever had to partake in.

Kenny's arms had wound around Christophe's chest, the blonde burying his face into the brunette's neck. Christophe didn't know what to do with his arms. Hugging back wasn't really an option, Kenny's shoulder pads saw to that.

"Kenny. Let me go si vous plais…" Christophe said softly, trying to push Kenny away from himself. Finally Kenny let him go, backing up a few steps and running his hand through flyaway blonde hair to get it out of his eyes.

"Christophe, don't ever fucking change dude." Kenny told him, a stupid grin plastered all over his face before he turned and started jogging towards the locker rooms, vanishing into the building. Christophe stared stupidly for a moment before shaking his head. He bent down to pick up the cigarette he'd dropped in surprise and pulled it to his lips.

He didn't think he'd ever understand Kenny McCormick.

* * *

I always saw Token as more a football player than a basketball player, hence...

And that reminds me I'm still supposed to watch BASEketball. My friend informs me there is Trey/Matt action going on there. *thumbs up*


	5. With A Kiss

So I watched BASEketball last night. If you guys haven't seen it, you must. I laughed so much, Trey and Matt really are gods.

Okay, so I took a slight liberty with this one. Christophe doesn't have a last name, so I provided him with one. Anyone who gets the reference totally gets a cookie.

In two chapters things will start to be explained! I swear it. But until then, enjoy this!

-Kami

* * *

In The Dark - With A Kiss

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

Kenny barely had time to turn around before he was slammed up against the lockers by one very angry looking Clyde.

"Dude," Kenny said, his voice half shocked, half amused. Clyde wasn't one for outright violence, but to see him so pissed off amused Kenny. Then again, anyone pissed off amused Kenny. "I like my feet on the ground bud,"

"Shut up." Clyde snarled. He twisted both his hands into Kenny's t-shirt and lifted the blonde a little higher off the ground, which was a feat only for the fact of Kenny's height. Most people could lift the 125 pound kid no problem.

"Dude, Clyde. What the fuck man? I haven't even done anything today!" Kenny said while trying not to sound amused with his own snarkiness. People were starting to crowd and watch, which wasn't unusual since first bell hadn't even rung yet. It wasn't often a fight started before first period.

"What is your obsession with Bebe?"

"Bebe?" Kenny asked, sounding thoroughly confused now, "Dude, I fucking hate Bebe, you know that." His hands wrapped around Clyde's wrists in a pathetic attempt to loosen the grip the brunette had on him.

"You're fucking stalking her!"

"Stalk…oh shit man!" Kenny said, bursting into a fit of laughter, "Dude, I wouldn't approach Bebe with a ten foot pole. What you do in your spare time is up to you, and I totally don't judge you on the ew factor. But I think it's high time you let me go, unless you want my steel toes in your balls."

Stan and Kyle were in the crowd of onlookers. Kyle twitched like he wanted to move forward and pull Clyde away from his friend. He was only stilled by the fact that Clyde had once kicked his ass. The only thing holding Stan back was Wendy, who was shaking her head.

"Wendy, let me go help Kenny! Clyde's being an asshole."

"Bebe told me she sees Kenny like…sitting in the trees outside her house every night."

"That's bullshit!" Kyle piped up, ignoring the glare that earned him from the petite woman, "Kenny has always hated Bebe, since we were kids."

Wendy looked mildly surprised and Stan shook his head.

"Kenny has never given us an explanation. Sometimes you just meet a person, and you hate them." Stan explained with a shrug at his girlfriend. "Kenny would rather live in hell forever than stalk Bebe."

Kenny let out a strangled sound as Clyde wrapped a hand around his throat. It was hard to tell the two of them used to be best friends by this point.

"Okay, that's enough." Stan said, pulling out of Wendy's grip, "C'mon Kyle…"

As the friends stepped forward, trying to shove through the crowd to get to the blonde, a metallic clang rang out through the entire hall.

Christophe's shovel was resting against a now dented locker next to Kenny and Clyde, the tip pointed up towards Clyde's head.

"I zink eet would be best if you let 'im go now." Christophe said coolly, eyes fixed on Clyde who had a look of utter shock on his face. Kenny simply whined that his ears were ringing.

"What does it matter to you?" Clyde asked, regaining himself a bit. Kyle and Stan stumbled through the crowd and watched, unsure if they should jump in anymore or if Christophe would find them offensive as well.

"You are accusing 'im of stalking Bebe at night, non?"

"Yeah, the little fucker is..." Clyde trailed off to return his angered glare to Kenny, trying to strangle him again.

"Ah-ah," Christophe warned, lifting the shovel and edging it closer to Clyde's head, "'Ow 'ard do you zink eet iz for me to swing zis right at your 'ead from zis distance?" Christophe asked. Clyde looked at the French teen, standing with his arm outstretched, hand wrapped around the shaft of the shovel just under the handle. He slowly loosened his grip on Kenny's throat, but kept him pinned to the locker.

"Kenny iz not stalking your girlfriend at night," Christophe informed Clyde, his eyes shifting to Kenny who was grinning like a madman now trying his hardest not to burst out laughing.

"Yeah? How do you know?" Clyde snapped, brown eyes glaring fiercely at Christophe.

"Eet iz simple." Christophe said, a smirk that was edging on dangerous flitting across his features, "'E 'az been staying with me during ze night. Now let 'im go before I am forced to make you."

Kenny couldn't hold it in anymore. With what appeared to be a random spaz, his legs kicked up, effectively sacking Clyde. The brunette let out a yelp of pain and dropped Kenny, who was now holding his sides with laughter.

As Christophe was strapping the shovel onto his back again, Kenny launched himself at he brunette, wrapping his arms around his broad shoulders and planting a big, sloppy kiss on his lips.

"My hero!"

"Get off of me," Christophe half snarled, punching Kenny.

Kenny found this entire thing all too funny and stumbled back, falling into Kyle and Stan who looked shocked, mildly disgusted, amused, and a few other things.

"Dudes," Kenny chuckled, not noticing Christophe's retreating form, "I think he just asked me out…"

"Kenny, I think you're fucking insane," Kyle said, shaking his head, helping the blonde stand up properly.

"No," Stan countered, looking from Kyle to Kenny, "I think you have some explaining to do."

"Soon," Kenny said with a quirky smile and nod before noticing Wendy, "Testaburger! Damn woman, you're looking fine!"

"It's good to see his 'hit on anything that moves' instinct is still working," Kyle offered as Stan pinched the bridge of his nose with an exasperated sigh.

"Kenny McCormick, Clyde Donovan and Christophe Molier please report to the principal's office."

Kenny looked up at the PA speaker with a pout.

"Damn," he muttered, "Someone's gunna hafta help Clyde up," he indicated the brunette still curled on the floor to his friends before pushing his way through the remaining crowd. God damn, whispers were like a wildfire. He was pretty sure that by the end of the day everyone would think he was sleeping with Christophe. Which he was, but not in the way they would be thinking.

Kenny was pretty sure Christophe wouldn't let him in his house for a while now anyways, which meant he'd have to be extra careful around Bebe's house tonight.

He reached the principal's office and cocked his eyebrow at Craig who was sitting with a bored expression in a chair, which promptly got him flipped off. He chuckled and shook his head, entering the office.

"Kenny, I think we need to discuss your behavioural habits…mmkay?"

Kenny rolled his eyes and took a seat as Token brought Clyde in.

"Sure think Mackey,"

"Where's Molier?" came Principal Victoria's voice as she looked up from the files she'd been rummaging through.

"Probably smoking," Kenny said with a laugh, "He's kinda really pissed off."

"Token, do you think you could get him, mmkay?" Mr. Mackey asked as Token was turning to leave. Token turned back around and burst out laughing.

"No thanks, I'd rather face a mad grizzly bear than a pissed off Mole," he said before promptly leaving. Kenny just slouched in his seat and grinned.

---

Kenny sat on the bleachers rubbing his thigh, watching Stan tackle Craig with a battle cry. The two toppled to the ground laughing. Kenny just chuckled and shook his head, taking a drag of his smoke.

"What iz wrong with your leg?"

"Oh…you're talking to me again." Kenny snorted, looking up at Christophe. The brunette looked down at him and Kenny couldn't help but laugh.

"What iz so funny?"

"Everyone thinks you broke up with me."

"We were not…togezer."

Kenny laughed a bit more, letting his smoke hang out of the corner so he could use both hands to rub his thigh. "Your little outburst last week made everyone think differently."

Christophe scowled and sat down next to Kenny, "People make up ridiculous stories."

"And then you don't talk to me for a week, thus adding fuel to the fire, so to speak." Kenny chuckled.

Christophe didn't say anything to that. He stared out across the field for a while. Finally he shook his head and looked down at his clunky combat boots.

"My parents were asking where you 'ave been."

Kenny looked up at him, surprise etched across his features. "For real?"

"Oui. Zey keep asking why you 'ave not been stealing our food for a week. I zink zey really like you."

"Dude. I never once stole any food. You totally said I could have it," Kenny snorted, though he looked amused. He dropped the butt and stomped it down with his cleat.

"Kenny!"

"Coming Stan!" Kenny shouted back, giving his leg a last hard rub before standing.

"What 'appened to your leg?"

"I got hit with a two by four last night." Kenny said with a shrug, hoping over the barrier and scooping his helmet off the ground.

"You look tired," Christophe noted, standing up.

"I am tired."

"Kenny!" Stan shouted.

"I'm coming! Hold your fucking horses!" Kenny shouted back before turning back to Christophe who was now leaning against the railing. "Are you telling me I'm allowed back in your house?"

"Oui."

"Well then," Kenny hummed, giving Christophe one of his infamous grins that meant he was about to pull something the other probably would hit him for, "Consider us no longer broken up." He said, popping the 'p' sound as he grabbed the collar of Christophe's shirt, pulled him forward and kissed him. And then he scooted away before Christophe could hit him, pulling on his helmet and running out onto the field where his team mates were waiting.

Christophe scowled and pulled out his smokes.

---

English class was pretty much the bane of Christophe's existence. Books that were boring and held no meaning to him could not be considered a curriculum. He was somewhere between falling asleep and wishing he were dead. If he had to hear one more thing about how the pigs head was a metaphor for the evil of mankind in Lord of the Flies, he would off himself.

And then his cell phone went off.

The entire class fell silent and stared at him as the phone let out a shrill ring. It went off again and he finally dug into the many pockets of his cargo pants to try and find it.

"Christophe! We do not allow cell phones in class!" Mrs. Garrison snapped angrily as he finally fished out the phone.

"Yeah yeah," he muttered, getting up and opening the phone. He ignored the angry protests of his teacher as he answered it, going out into the hallway.

"Oui, zis iz Ze Mole."

"Mole. It's Gregory. I have an assignment for you. The pay is high, higher than you would normally get."

"What iz eet?"

"Seek and destroy, I'm afraid. You're going to have to get your hands dirty for this one, chap."

"Oui. I will take eet." Christophe said without hesitation. Normally he wouldn't jump right in for a murder mission, but his last couple of jobs had been shitty and he was almost broke. Being broke did not support his smoking habit, especially now since Kenny was always 'bumming a smoke' from him.

"Good, meet me tonight at the usual spot, I will have all the details waiting for you."

"Au reviour." Christophe said curtly before snapping his phone shut and heading back into the classroom.


	6. Interlude

I'm really trying to find a place to stick more Cartman, I just can't *sigh* Well, maybe in the upcoming chapters it'll be a bit easier.

I just want to squee for a minute. I play Kenny in my RP community on LJ and I just got a Stan and maaaybe a Kyle. It made my day.

After this chapter, things are going to start getting explained. There's a scene in this chapter I may expand on later, simply because I have a love for writing smut and I can't post it here.

Thanks to all the people who are faving and watching the story, and thanks to Zoshi for all of the awesome reviews  
-Kami

* * *

In The Dark - Interlude

Kenny stumbled a bit as he ran. His feet pounded the pavement, his muscles protested loudly and his lungs felt like they were about to give out. God damn his smokers lungs.

He stumbled again, nearly falling but managed to steady himself as he pressed on. He could hear them behind him, voices were faint enough that Kenny was sure they were going to give up chasing soon. He dove into the bushes of the first house on the corner and crouched down. It was quiet for a few minutes and then Kenny heard them round the corner, talking loudly with labored breaths.

"Didn't he go this way?"

"I saw him, it's kinda hard to miss the bright fucking orange sweater that kid wears."

Kenny clamped his hands over his mouth to hold in his snickers as the two men bickered between themselves. Suddenly there was a big bang from somewhere above Kenny's head followed by a startled voice.

"Oh! Jesus!"

"What the hell?" one of the men started, staring up at the window. From the window a very wired Tweek stared down at them with a horrified expression.

"The…ngh! The gnomes have bodyguards? Oh Jesus Christ! Da---ack---DAD!"

"Shit, let's get the fuck out of here!"

The two men turned tail and ran. Kenny was never more thankful for Tweek in his life. As soon as the two men were out of sight, Kenny crawled out of the bushes and ran the rest of the way to Christophe's.

He hoped the waist high fence without breaking his run until he got to the side of though house where there was a very handy trellis to climb. He scaled the side of the house until he managed to pull himself up onto the overhang of the house. He paused for a moment, panting heavily and squeezing his eyes shut. God, it was so close tonight. He tried to push back the memories. They came anyways.

They'd actually gotten to the house before he'd noticed them. They were jimmying open the living room window. He'd barely gotten out of his tree in time. He managed to grab one, slamming his head into the window before the other could grab onto his hood and yank him back.

The fight that ensued was typical. Kenny did his best to fend off the two men, both who were bigger than he was. And then Bebe appeared in the window. She screamed and everyone scattered. Kenny was sure the men would go crawling back to their boss and let him know they couldn't get what they wanted.

Apparently the plans had changed as Kenny realized he had a price on his head when they started to chase him. He should have expected it really, no one came between a prince as his rewards.

"Fuck Bebe!" Kenny snapped, slamming his fist into the shingled roof. He winced at the pain before crawling along the roof to get to Christophe's window. The window was unlocked and he crawled through it quickly, shutting the window behind him and closing the curtains.

"Tophe?" he called softly, looking around the room. He wasn't there. Kenny shrugged, kicking off his shoes and then crawling over to the TV to flick it on. Just as he was flipping through channels and contemplating asking Christophe's parents when his birthday was to get him a DVD player for it, Christophe came in.

Kenny blinked a bit as the light from the hallway flooded the room and then vanished quickly as Christophe closed the door.

"Kenny."

Christophe's surprised tone took Kenny off guard, the fact that he looked nervous actually frightened him. He'd never known Christophe to be anything but solid and sure.

"You okay dude?"

"Oui." Christophe said, brushing the question off as he kicked off his boots, "I am fine."

Kenny settled on a cartoon channel as Christophe put his shovel down in its spot by the door. As Kenny scooted backwards into his usual spot on Christophe's bed, Christophe headed to the closet, pulling off his t-shirt and tossing it into the laundry basket. Kenny decided that watching Christophe was much better than cartoons and left his eyes fixed on the scarred back. Kenny always felt like a ghost when he compared his skin to Christophe's. Kenny knew he had muscles, but he was still built like a twig, Christophe's build made him wonder if the mercenary could snap him like one.

Christophe approached the bed, well aware of Kenny's stare but ignoring it, as he changed the channel to some sort of drama show and Kenny pouted in protest.

"I was going to watch that."

"Be quiet," Christophe commanded him. Kenny fell silent, watching Christophe lower himself to hands and knees and crawl across the mattress. Kenny swallowed hard when the teen crawled up to him instead of going to sit in his usual spot.

"Ch…Christophe?" he stuttered, hating himself for it but unable to prevent it.

"I said shut up," Christophe replied softly, his voice halfway between a purr and a growl as he leaned forward. His lips connected with Kenny's and the blonde melted under the touch. Christophe pressed forward, running his tongue lightly against Kenny's lips, which immediately opened for him. Kenny's arms wound around Christophe's shoulders and neck, one hand curling up into his hair without a single thought of why Christophe would do this after weeks of snapping and hitting Kenny each time he got too close.

Christophe wrapped one arm around Kenny, tugging him down to lay flat on the mattress, straddling the smaller frame. Kenny stared up at him with half lidded eyes, running his tongue over his lips. Christophe's lips quirked up the slightest as he unzipped the hoodie the other was wearing. Kenny tugged it off, tossing it aside and then reached up, running his hands over Christophe's chest, fingers following the faint scars, rubbing along his collar bone and back down to learn the subtle curves if his abs and hips.

Christophe had never allowed anyone to learn his body so intimately before, but he waited patiently for Kenny to get his fill before leaning down to kiss him again. This was going to be different from the nameless, quick fucks he had on his travels. It was the least he could do.

---

Kenny was curled against Christophe's side, sound asleep. Christophe had already gone through a pack of smokes while pacing around the room, now his eyes stared blankly ahead at the TV. There was sound, he was sure of it. He just couldn't hear it.

Kenny snored softly, he couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like it. In the dark, everything blended together.

Kenny turned, rolling away from Christophe, bringing the teen from his thoughts. Inner turmoil more like it. Christophe did not bring people home, he didn't start relationships, it was dangerous.

And then came Kenny, who seemed to be too tough to kill and he wasn't threatened by Christophe in the least. Kenny hadn't pushed anything on him, and Christophe accepted him as a friend. He wanted to keep him close. He was ready and willing to throw himself into the unknown territory of actual compassion for another being, and it came crashing around his head.

He turned his gaze onto Kenny's sleeping form, running his hand over the smooth skin of his back. Kenny stirred slightly, turning his head to look at Christophe with a lazy smile.

"Mmm," he hummed, letting his eyes close again as Christophe pet his hair.

God was a fucking bitch.

"Kenny," he said softly, stirring the boy. Kenny let out a mumbled protest, but rolled over and looked up at Christophe.

"Yeah?"

Christophe's voice caught in his throat, so instead he leaned down and kissed the blonde. Kenny let out a soft, happy sound, one hand reaching up to cup Christophe's face. When they broke, Christophe looked more distressed than Kenny had ever seen him.

"What's wrong?"

"I am…so sorry," Christophe said softly, pulling away from Kenny and standing up quickly.

Kenny only had a second to look shocked as Christophe grabbed his shovel from where it was propped against his nightstand.

And then Christophe killed Kenny.


End file.
